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Overview
Tammy Faye’s journey has been a bumpy one—including divorce, cancer, addiction, and depression—but she has triumphed over it all, with her makeup intact. In this book, she candidly recounts the lessons she’s learned, surprising and delighting us with her unique insight on such topics as forgiveness, faith, and fashion.
Chock-full of lists, quotes, makeup tips, and “Tammy Faye-isms,” I Will Survive . . . is a one-of-a-kind handbook for living a fabulous life.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781101144084 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 09/15/2003 |
| Sold by: | Penguin Group |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 304 |
| File size: | 418 KB |
| Age Range: | 18 Years |
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Family and Friends—Life’s Most Precious Treasures
Chapter 1. - Run Toward the Roar
Chapter 2. - Stinky Feet, or How to Help Your Child Cope with Divorce
Chapter 3. - Tammy Sue
Chapter 4. - Marriage and Divorce
Chapter 5. - Christmas
Chapter 6. - Just One More Time
Chapter 7. - Aunt Gin
Chapter 8. - February 19, 2002
Chapter 9. - Patty Goes Home
Chapter 10. - Roe and Me at Home
Chapter 11. - Little Things Mean a Lot
Chapter 12. - The Peeing Contest
Chapter 13. - Little Things Mean a Lot, Part II
Chapter 14. - A Man Named Joe
It’s a Bumpy Ride, So Hang On!
Chapter 15. - Don’t Be a Victim
Chapter 16. - Pain
Chapter 17. - Facing Grief
Chapter 18. - Rejection and How to Handle It
Chapter 19. - The Song in My Heart
Chapter 20. - The Power of Agreement
Chapter 21. - Facades
God Loves You Just the Way You Are—He Really Does
Chapter 22. - Looking Good and Self-Esteem
Chapter 23. - Always Someone Better
Chapter 24. - Personality Check
Chapter 25. - Funny Things Happen When You Least Expect It
Chapter 26. - Talk About Embarrassing!
Chapter 27. - A New You
Chapter 28. - How to Lose Weight and Keep It Off
Chapter 29. - Colors
Chapter 30. - Dress Rich on a Budget
Chapter 31. - Traveling Light
Chapter 32. - Fun with Nail Polish
Chapter 33. - Make Your Own Jewelry
Chapter 34. - Facelifts and Wigs: Should You?
Chapter 35. - Tammy’s Makeup Tips
Lessons Worth Learning
Chapter 36. - Positive or Negative
Chapter 37. - Procrastination
Chapter 38. - Happy Miracles
Chapter 39. - A Fish Story—The One That Got Away
Chapter 40. - Famous People
Chapter 41. - Use It or Lose It
Chapter 42. - Drifting Away
Chapter 43. - The Devil Has No Pitchfork or Tail; He Is Beautiful
Chapter 44. - “There is a way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof ...
Chapter 45. - Planting Seeds
Chapter 46. - Shopping Center Kids
Chapter 47. - The Gay Community
Chapter 48. - Jesus Is Coming
Chapter 49. - Your Hut Is Burning
Chapter 50. - Final Thoughts
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Published simultaneously in Canada
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Messner, Tammy Faye, date.
I will survive—and you can too / Tammy Faye Messner.
p. cm.
ISBN: 9781101144084
1. Messner, Tammy Faye, date. 2. Christian biography—United States. I. Title.
BR1725.M43A
277.3’082’092—dc22
[B]
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
I dedicate this book to my husband of ten years, Roe Messner. His quiet, peaceful nature and his unwavering faith in God inspire all who meet him, and the lessons he has taught me have enriched my life. He taught me that there is a life after tragedy. He has taught me how to live in peace, to be myself, and not to let anyone intimidate me. He has urged me on when I wanted to quit and has helped me build back a self-esteem that I thought was gone forever. The twinkle in his eyes keeps our marriage fun and fulfilling. We are not only lovers, we are best friends. We are comfortable together. He calls me “Monkey”; I won’t tell you what I call him! Ha! Ha! He is the consummate gentleman who still opens the door for his wife.
Acknowledgments
There are some very special people in my life that I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to.
First of all, my daughter, Tammy Sue Bakker, and my son, Jamie Charles Bakker. Thank you, kids, for always being there for Mom. I love you two; you are my heart. Thank you, Sissy, for having James and Jonathan and making me a grandma. And thank you, Jamie, for bringing your beautiful Amanda into our family.
My girlfriends have been a great source of love and encouragement to me over the years. I want them to know how important they are to me. Thank you: Deborah Lilly, Joyce Cordell, Judy Bycura, Gloria Weigand, Shirley Fulbright Martin, Sally Wall, Mona Lewis, Cheri Baldwin, Maryanna Yoxall, Rev. Sarah Utterbach, Zonell Thompson, Sharon Dygert, Jude Walker, Emma Howard, Mary Hutchinson, Fran Moore, Melony Hart, Sigrid Zenker, Cheryl Coleman, Bobbie Garn, Sandi Watson, and my cousin, Phyllis Tanner. And I cannot forget you, Patty Sewell. Patty died unexpectedly a few months ago. Patty, I miss you so much.
The women I have mentioned are “women of substance.” They are godly women. They have been a part of my life for many years. I don’t know what I would have done without them. I am proud to be able to call these wonderful women my friends. They say you are fortunate if you can count your close friends on one hand. God has blessed me beyond measure.
Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank the wonderful people who asked me to write this book. They put no demands on me as to content. They allowed me to write my heart. My thanks goes to my publisher, Joel Fotinos, my editor, Denise Silvestro, my publicist, Kelly Groves, and to John Strausbaugh, Amy Halliday, and Alan Stephenson.
Introduction
If you were to ask someone who knows me well, “What is Tammy Faye really like?” they would more than likely answer with, “What you see is what you get.” And I guess that’s me, all right. For years, people have tried to change me into what they think I should be. And for years I have fought to “just be me”; I don’t know how to be someone else.
If you don’t know me, I hope that through this book we will become friends. I sat at my old typewriter, Diet Coke in hand, for many months writing what is on these pages. I have written “my heart.” I do think my very heart came through my fingers and landed on these pages.
I had you on my mind as I was writing. I wanted you to laugh, I wanted you to cry with me. But most of all, ally, I wanted to help you make it through the difficult times of your life.
As a little four-foot-eleven-inch girl from International Falls, Minnesota, my life has gone far beyond what I ever dreamed it could. Far beyond the happiness I dreamed, far beyond the sorrow I never dreamed of. But I’m still here, still laughing, still crying, still singing . . . And I give all the credit to One who never left me, never forsook me, even in the hardest of times—the Lord Jesus Christ.
To help you know me better, allow me to tell you about my life:
1. My former husband, Jim Bakker, and I helped build the third largest Christian television network in the world—Pat Robertson’s CBN. We worked with Pat for nine years. Next, we built the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), now run by Paul Crouch. Finally, we built PTL-TV, the largest Christian television network in the world at that time. PTL was the third most visited place in the U.S. after Disneyland and Disney World.
2. I have been on TV for over half my life—thirty-five years.
3. I have recorded twenty-five albums, two of which went gold.
4. I have written five books, two of which were on the best-seller list.
5. For years I did my own TV show called Tammy’s House Party.
6. I later did a secular television show with Jim J Bullock called The Jim J and Tammy Faye Show.